In modern communication systems there can occur a situation in which a terminal is capable of accessing a network via more than one access point. For example, a terminal can be connected to a first access point having a first access technology and to a second access point having a second access technology, where both access points in turn provide a connection to a common network, such as e.g. the Internet. In this case the terminal is in a multi-access or multi-resource (each access can be seen as a resource) environment. Such a situation is especially known within the context of having plural radio access possibilities, and in this context it is known to provide so-called multi-radio resource management (MRRM). MRRM includes access advertisement, access discovery, access selection and load management in a cooperative or competitive environment. Cooperation can e.g. take place at the radio resource level between any combination of traditional mobile network operators on the one hand and new operators with different roles in the service delivery value network, e.g. access brokers, local access providers or end users acting as relays for other users. The logic behind cooperation can be the desire to efficiently use the (often scarce) radio resources and enable smooth inter-working across different accesses and business domains. MRRM mechanisms serve to manage such situations.
One aspect of MRRM is the selection of an access connection from a plurality of available access connections. In other words, when a terminal has the possibility of connecting to a network (e.g. the Internet) via a plurality of access points (e.g. via a GPRS connection, a UMTS connection or a WLAN connection) a decision must be made in the terminal and/or access points and/or network which access connection to select. It is known to evaluate the available access connections in view of one or more access connection properties (such as data rate, delay, reliability, etc.) and to make a decision in accordance with a predetermined selection algorithm that makes a decision based on the access connection information. For example, the selection algorithm can consist in choosing the access connection offering the highest data rate, and accordingly the data rate of the available access connections is measured and compared, and the connection with highest data rate is accordingly chosen. Naturally, the selection decision can be based on more than one parameter and the selection condition can be chosen in any suitable or desirable way.